Former England cricketer Monty Panesar has rated India's comeback cricketer Karun Nair highly ahead of the five-Test series against Ben Stokes' side. Panesar believes that India's hopes of doing well will be pinned on Nair and newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill. He feels the selectors have done well by picking players who have played county cricket.
"It would depend on how Karun Nair performs, he scored a double-hundred against the England Lions. He and Shubman Gill, that middle-order, how they bat. I think the batters who've played county cricket, if they are able to then transform that same form at the international level, then I think India have got a chance to win," Panesar told Hindustan Times.
"But if they just somehow freeze, it's the big stage, it's the crowd, it's playing for India, it's not playing for Surrey or some other county, and suddenly they're not playing the same level like it's for England Lions when there's only like a dog and, you know, one man and his dog. That, I think, is going to be the deciding factor in how they take on the international arena. If they take it on like they're doing right now, then I think India have got a chance of winning it."
Panesar on Nair and Gill's batting position
Panesar was asked whether he sees Nair batting at no.3 or no.4. In the ongoing match for India A against England Lions, he batted at no.3 and scored 204 in Canterbury. He feels India have a strong lineup.
"It doesn't matter if it's either Karun Nair or Shubman Gill. It'll be either three or four. Karun Nair has played at Northampton. He's done very well. He's done well, obviously, on the Lions trip. You can see the players that they've picked have actually played county cricket. If he goes four or three, it doesn't matter. It's up to Shubman Gill. But that's a strong batting line-up," he said.
Panesar also cautioned Ben Stokes' side of the fearless young cricketers for the five-Test series starting June 20.
"India have got these fearless young cricketers coming through. I think another superstar is going to be born in the next five Test matches for India," he predicted.
Gill will join Nair in England for India A's second match which is scheduled to begin on June 6. That fixture is likely to give a clear picture whether Nair will bat at no.3 or no.4.